NEWSLETTER
How do Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy survive the day? I understand that football is not baseball, and I understand that the Bears don’t make in-season changes. But, come ON. The die is cast. How do you not, TODAY, come out and say you need to clean house, you need to launch an immediate search for a new president of football operations, and then that person is going to build everything from the ground up? And since that is an URGENT need, how do you not start as soon as possible?
Anyway … on to the Cubs …
• Chicago Cubs Assistant GM/VP of Pitching Craig Breslow hopped on The Score this weekend, discussing pitcher development and working with prospects during the shutdown. As he suggested, the silver lining was that the shutdown forced the Cubs to streamline their communications and work with prospects remotely to be sure they could help them continue their development that way, which, in turn, could be a boon in the future. The Cubs invested heavily in their player development infrastructure over the past two years, so we were hoping to see significant steps forward anyway (especially when paired with a shift in draft philosophy a few years ago, going for higher-upside/higher-risk arms). It’s entirely possible that next year, when the minor leagues are actually played, we’re blown away by the steps forward taken by the Cubs’ top pitching prospects. And if we’re not, well, I suppose people will offer up the shutdown as the excuse – but it doesn’t sound like the Cubs will accept that.
• Speaking to that point for a moment: while it’s easy enough to imagine the Cubs (and other orgs) implementing great new processes that allow for pitchers to take big steps forward even when not competing in games, it’s pretty impossible to see the same being true for hitters. You can get together some backyard games and/or find some other pros and amateurs to throw you batting practice, but it’s just not the same as getting in your reps in games. So you might see a situation where the hitters are even more behind the pitchers next year, which means the results might skew even more toward the pitchers in the first half of the minor league season. Be advised, I suppose.
• And speaking of the minors and the Rule 5 Draft coming this week on Thursday, MLB Pipeline took a look at the most intriguing prospect in each org who is eligible for selection in the big league phase, and the Cubs section is a little telling. The name is righty reliever Dakota Mekkes, who was actually eligible last year and went unselected, and then spent this year at the alternate site without being called up or added to the 40-man. Against that backdrop, it’s basically impossible to see him being selected this year, which is to say that the Cubs probably don’t have any obvious selection candidates in the big league phase. Which is mostly good, right? It’d be nice to be so overflowing with prospects that you can’t possibly protect them all, but since most of the Cubs’ top talent is at the lower levels, they aren’t a big Rule 5 risk. (None of that is a shot at Mekkes, by the way, who could still emerge as a big league reliever in time.)
• As for the minor league phase of the Rule 5, though, HA! Good luck predicting that this year, when virtually none of the eligible prospects would’ve played anywhere this year that you could actually scout them.
• We’re probably gonna get too far into hyping Jason Adam after what we saw from him last year (and reminding folks that he was a potential big-time arm in the Royals system before his injuries/surgeries), but if he stays healthy, it’s more likely than not that he’s a stud:
Nice to see Jason Adam working out at Driveline on their Instagram. Underrated player for 2021, particularly if Cubs quest to move money this week ends in trading Kimbrel. Adam’s pitch characteristics are a pretty elite foundation for Driveline (and Cubs coaches) to build upon.
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) December 7, 2020
(Before you jump on that Kimbrel part, Bryan isn’t breaking any news there. The Cubs almost certainly would move Kimbrel right now if there was a reasonable offer. But I doubt that happens this offseason, and that’s fine. Kimbrel is a very good bet to be awesome in the first half of 2021, and then you see what’s what.)
• This is a fascinating read on Gary Sanchez in general if you’re curious about the weird trajectory of the Yankees catcher, but I was taken by how a lack of speed can hurt you in one very specific way: the third baseman can play very deep on you. This, of course, translates to lefty batters, too, and other infielders – they identify slow batters quickly, and play way back:
If you look at third base positioning, and speed, and then compare a batter’s OPS against his projected OPS, you’ll find a pattern. Generally, running 25 feet per second or slower will cost you around 10 points of OPS, and running 26 feet per second or faster will give you around 10 points of OPS. All because the defender is playing you back further.
• Note that this penalty isn’t talking specifically about grounders you fail to beat out as hits – it’s talking about hits that never reach the outfield because the third baseman can play far back enough to cut off extra angles. Speed really matters when it comes to your production at the plate.
• Congrats to an old friend:
In 2020, Starlin Castro joined a group of #MLBPlayers that have reached 10 years of Major League Service.
Since coming up as a phenom for Chicago, the Dominican infielder has added four All-Star appearances and even led the NL in hits one season.
Congratulations, Starlin! pic.twitter.com/9MYjnEwDXN
— MLBPA (@MLB_PLAYERS) December 7, 2020
• Castro is still just 30 years old. (Not that I want to trade Kris Bryant straight up for him …. )
• Sunglasses, snow blowers, phones, and game tables are among your Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad
• Great classic shot, especially with the colors and the cars:
Stunning shot of Wrigley Field. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/15qnS9J9K4
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) December 6, 2020
• Happy birthday to Kyle Hendricks, who is now 31, if you can believe it:
https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1335947272148938754
